


Teacher Drama

by GraySonOfGotham



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Drama & Romance, English Teacher Jason, Flirting, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jaydick_fashfic: rumors and reputations, M/M, Misunderstandings, POV Outsider, Rumors, Secret Relationship, Tumblr: JayDick Flash Fanwork Challenge, math teacher Dick, vacationing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 02:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18459584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraySonOfGotham/pseuds/GraySonOfGotham
Summary: Ms. Barbara Gordon had worked at Highlands High School for fifteen years, and she had yet to see teacher drama like the kind between the head of the math department and the head of the English department.





	Teacher Drama

Ms. Barbara Gordon had worked at Highlands High School for fifteen years, and she had yet to see teacher drama like the kind between the head of the math department and the head of the English department.

As the computer science teacher, Barbara got along well with all the other departments. She was content to drift around and make friends with everyone. And it was easy to make friends with all the other staff.

They were all amiable and easy to talk to. Very rarely was there any super scandalous gossip among the teachers. Before Mr. Grayson and Mr. Todd, the last scandal was when the janitor and one of the office secretaries were caught having sex behind the bleachers, almost six years ago.

Barbara remembered when Mr. Grayson came to the school, only a few years back. He was the new math teacher, and quickly worked himself up to the head of the school’s math department. Young, easy on the eyes, popular among teachers and students, Mr. Grayson was very easy to like.

Sad part was, Mr. Grayson was married. He wore a plain silver band on the ring finger of his left hand, warning off people who would have tried to make a move otherwise. Though, that did not stop some people.

One of which, was Mr. Todd.

He come to Highlands a few months into the school year, starting out as the long-term substitute for Mrs. Rosenberg, who had broken her back while trying to decorate her classroom for Halloween.

From the very beginning, Mr. Todd made no move to pretend not to be flirting with Mr. Grayson. Sure, he had the sense to keep the comments away from the ears of students, but around the other teachers, Mr. Todd would loudly profess how sexy Mr. Grayson was, and how he planned to get Mr. Grayson to fall for him.

Mr. Grayson usually just smiled politely and change the subject or make up an excuse to leave Mr. Todd’s presence.

Some of the teachers despised Mr. Todd because of his blatant words, despite the fact that he never actually made any move to keep his promises.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why Barbara was drawn to the English teacher. They became fast friends, and she found out quickly that Mr. Todd had many more passions aside from Mr. Grayson’s ass.

“Valentine’s Day’s coming up,” Mr. Todd, Jason, said one night while they were out for drinks with a few of the other teachers. “You guys got any plans?”

“My husband made reservations at _Chez Marie_ ,” Kori, the visual art teacher said. “He had to reserve us a table two months in advance!”

“I think I’m just going to watch a movie with friends,” Barbara said thoughtfully.

“Seriously?” Jason asked. “Babs, you’re boring.”

“What?” Barbara asked. “I don’t see you having any plans, Mr. Still Single.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Of course I have plans. But they’re a secret.”

“So you _do_ have someone special?” Tim asked. He taught economics and statistics. “Why chase after Dick then?”

“He _is_ my someone special,” Jason said with a smirk.

Kori snorted and knocked back the rest of her drink. “I heard that your ‘someone special’ was going on a weekend trip with his husband.”

“Oh?” Jason asked, interest piqued. “Where to, did he tell?”

“They’re going to out on a private little cruise on their own yacht, I heard,” Stephanie, another English teacher, said excitedly. “Imagine having a _yacht._ ”

“Why’s he working at a high school if he has his own yacht?” Jason asked, nose wrinkling.

“Apparently he likes teaching,” Barbara said, dragging some fries through ketchup. “And math. Maybe he gets bored at home alone.”

“His husband works?”

“Well, _someone_ payed for that yacht.”

“Maybe he’s married to some gross old man,” Jason said. “All the more reason for me to save him!”

The girls just laughed, and Tim shook his head. Jason smirked and leaned back in his chair, his eyes twinkling.

~

Valentine’s Day was on Friday. Barbara ran into Dick in the parking lot, just getting out of his car.

“Oh, hey, Babs!” he said cheerfully. “Happy Galentine’s Day!”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, for me. But not for you, lover boy. All packed for your trip?”

“Yeah,” Dick said with a dreamy smile. “I’m excited. It’s going to be so fun…”

They continued chatting as they walked into the school. Barbara walked Dick to his classroom. He opened his door and turned on the lights. His eyes widened in shock.

There was a path of rose petals leaded from the door to his desk, and on the desk was a bouquet of roses, a box of chocolates, and a teddy bear that held a heart that said, _Be My Valentine_.

“Oh my god…” Barbara said. “Who did this?”

Dick sighed. “Who else?”

“No,” Barbara said. “I- I didn’t think he would actually do anything!”

Dick smiled wryly. “You underestimate that man’s will. Well, I’ve got some cleaning up to do,” he said.

“Want me to help?” Barbara asked sympathetically, eyeing the hundreds of rose petals on the floor.

“Nah,” Dick said. “Thanks for offering though.”

As Barbara walked to her own classroom, she ran into Jason, who was dressed in a white-button up and had a black bowtie as well. He had even shaved and did something with his hair.

“Oh, hey, Babs-”

She shook her head at him. “Are you seriously trying to seduce Dick, Jay?”

Jason blinked at her. “Yeah? Why?”

“He’s married, you idiot!”

“I know that,” Jason laughed. “So?”

“So?!”

Jason patted her shoulder. “Look, it’s fine. It’s harmless. If he rejects me, I’ll just say it’s a huge joke, right? But if he doesn’t… then I’m not the only one in the wrong.” With that, he spun around and started down the hall, in the direction of the math classrooms.

Barbara stared after him in disbelief.

By lunchtime, the rumor had spread across the entire school, among teachers and students. The variants were crazy, some crazier than others, and none of them were good.

_“Mr. Todd and Mr. Grayson are having an affair!”_

_“Well, I heard that Mr. Grayson has several sugar daddies at his disposal, and his husband doesn’t know about it!”_

_“Dude, did you know that Mr. Todd and Mr. Grayson used to be lovers in high school, and Mr. Todd is jealous of Mr. Grayson’s marriage, so now he’s trying to seduce him!”_

_“I have Mr. Grayson for third period, and there were tons of rose petals in his trashcan as well as an empty box of chocolates. And he looked very happy. So I’m not saying he’s cheating on his husband, but…”_

_“Jason went to go confront Dick this morning before school, and I’m pretty sure Dick slapped him silly. I haven’t seen Jason since this morning.”_

_“I saw Dick during his break period, and guess what?_ He wasn’t wearing his ring _. I mean, it wouldn’t be too surprised if they were having an affair. Dick never did talk about his husband much.”_

_“There was someone crying in the men’s bathroom this morning. It was either Jason or Dick. So either Dick rejected Jason, or Dick’s husband found out.”_

_“I haven’t seen either of them after lunch, and they both have subs for their afternoon classes. It’s quite suspicious if you think about it.”_

_“Well, I know that Dick said he was leaving for his trip after lunch, so maybe that’s why he’s not there. Holy shit, what if Jason’s his stalker too?!”_

Barbara went home with a headache, and she helped herself to a large glass of wine. She wondered what she should do, what she should believe. She knew that she should not believe any rumors until she got the story from either Dick or Jason, but she had a lot of doubts flying through her head at that point.

Saturday morning, Barbara came home from her morning run, and her phone was ringing off the hook from where she had forgotten it on the counter.

“Hello?” she asked, answering it without checking who had called.

_“Hey, Babs!”_

“Dick,” Barbara said in surprise. “Hey… what’s up?”

_“So, I feel horrible, but I need to ask you for a favor.”_

“Sure…” Barbara said suspiciously. “What is it? Aren’t you supposed to be on your trip right now?”

 _“I am!”_ Dick laughed, and true to his word, Barbara could hear wind whipping and waves crashing in the background. _“And my brother was supposed to be dog sitting my puppy, but he told me last minute that he couldn’t do it. Can I ask you to go over to my house and make sure she’s okay sometime today and tomorrow? Please?”_

Barbara pursed her lips. “Yeah, fine,” she said. He was lucky she liked dogs. “Give me your address.”

_“Thanks, Babs! I owe you one! Her name’s Ikigai. Oh, and I have a beta fish, if you don’t mind feeding him too… he won’t answer to his name, but it’s Pi. His food is next to his tank in the living room, and Ikigai’s food is-”_

“I’m sorry, what did you say your puppy’s name was? E-key-guy?” Barbara interrupted.

 _“Yeah, it’s Japanese. I didn’t name her. My husband did. And I don’t know what it means, so don’t ask,”_ Dick laughed. _“Her food’s under the sink. I’ll give you my address, and I will be forever in your debt.”_

Barbara rolled her eyes and grabbed a Post-it, ready to write down Dick’s address. “Yeah, yeah, now tell me where you live, lover boy.”

~

A couple of hours later, when Barbara pulled up in front of Dick’s house, she was blinking up at it in wonder. Not only did Dick live quite far from Highlands, his house was closer to mansion than a house. Well, maybe not mansion sized, but it was very large. His driveway could fit several cars.

She walked up to the porch, and counted one, two, three flowerpots before picking up the third one and picking up the spare key.

She unlocked the front door and pushed the door open. Almost immediately the sound of barking and nails clicking on wooden floorboards met her. A huge German shepherd came charging at her. For a second, Barbara thought it would leap on her, but instead, it just bound excitedly around her legs, barking and wagging her tail vigorously.

“Ikigai?” she said. “Is that your name, baby?”

The dog barked at her name.

Barbara smiled and pet her head. “Some _puppy_ you are,” she snorted. Then, she headed towards the kitchen, passing through the living room to search for the beta fish Dick had mentioned.

She found it, and tapped a bit of the fish food into its tank. Then, her eyes fell to the picture frames next to the tank.

The first picture her eyes landed on was the one that was obviously from a wedding. While Barbara had expected only to recognize one man in the picture, her blood went cold when she recognized both.

It was a picture of Jason Todd, piggy-backing Dick Grayson down the aisle of a church as rose petals fell down around them.

Barbara’s breathing sped up when she looked at the other pictures. Dick and Jason making cookies in ugly Christmas sweaters. Dick and Jason sitting under a tree, sharing a kiss. Jason trying to tug a stick away from a younger Ikigai. Dick hugging an embarrassed and angry-looking teenaged boy. Dick and Jason asleep against each other on the couch, swaddled in blankets.

“Oh fuck,” Barbara whispered. She usually did not curse, unless under extreme circumstances. This was an extreme circumstance.

Dick and Jason were married.

Dick’s _husband_ was Jason. So when Jason flirted so blatantly with Dick, he had only been flirting with his husband. They were on their own private yacht out in the middle of the Atlantic right now. Together.

Many questions flew through Barbara’s head. She stumbled to the couch and sat down. Why did Dick wear a ring, but Jason did not? Why do they keep it a secret, and yet have Jason flirt with Dick all the time? Why do they drive to school in separate cars? Why did Jason name their dog Ikigai?

The only question Barbara could possibly answer was the last one. She pulled out her phone and found the translation to _ikigai_.

 _Ikigai:_ a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being."

She understood suddenly, and she could not help but laugh. Ikigai, the German shepherd cocked her head at her. _Ikigai_ was not directed at the dog, but at Dick.

Barbara shook her head, got up, and went to go get the dog food.

~

Jason did not come to school on Monday, but Dick did.

He cheerfully went about his day, teaching his classes, taking his breaks, and did not say a single word to Barbara.

Finally, Barbara cornered Dick after school by his car.

“Oh, Babs!” Dick said. “I meant to thank you earlier, but it totally slipped my mind,” he said with a laugh.

Barbara frowned, looking him up and down. Dick had gotten a nice golden tan from his weekend out at sea apparently.

“No problems,” she said slowly. “Ikigai is adorable.”

“Isn’t she?” Dick asked with a grin. “She’s my baby.”

“Hm, you mentioned you didn’t know what _ikigai_ meant?” she said.

“No,” Dick said, smiling wider. “My husband won’t tell me, and he said he doesn’t want me to know. Apparently it’s a secret he has with himself, and I’m not about to ruin it for him.”

“Hm,” Barbara said with pursed lips. “I see. So how was your trip?”

“Wonderful,” Dick said with a dreamy sigh. “I had a lovely time.”

“Uh-huh,” Barbara said. She leaned against his car door. “So… where’s Jason today?”

Dick played dumb and cocked his head to the side, his smile never wavering. “I don’t… know? Why would I know?”

Barbara glared at him. She wanted Dick to say it. But seeing that he would not, she got off his car. “Just asking,” she said casually. “Bye, Dick.”

“Bye…?”

~

The next day, Barbara pushed open the door to Jason’s classroom, pulled up a chair and plopped down in front of him.

“What?” he asked, his voice raspy.

“So, where were you yesterday?” she asked.

“I was… sick,” he said, not looking up from his work. He finished marking up the student’s essay and glanced at her, pushing his glasses up. “What’s up?”

“How’d you get sick?” she asked.

Jason stared hard at her, his eyebrows drawing together the slightest. He capped his red pen and tapped it against his chin for a couple of seconds. “Fell into Gotham Bay,” he finally said.

“Mhm. Did you stay home and cuddle your dog all day?” she asked.

Jason smirked and shrugged. “Maybe I did. What’s it to you?”

“I’m just trying to figure out why you guys hide it,” she said.

“Hide what?” Jason asked.

Barbara huffed. “You guys seriously just want me to say it first, don’t you? Fine, I will. Why do you and Dick hide the fact that you’re married?”

Jason smiled and leaned back in his chair. “We don’t.”

Barbara sputtered. “Are you kidding me? Yeah, you do! I thought- I thought you were single this entire time!”

Jason laughed. “That’s not my fault. Sure, I don’t _wear_ my wedding ring, but…” he reached under his shirt and pulled out a silver chain that had a ring dangling on it. “I do have it on my person at all times. I’ve never said I was single.”

Barbara glared at him. “You’re infuriating.”

“What? Aren’t you glad I’m not ‘trying to seduce Dick’ now?” Jason asked. “Though, I will never give up an opportunity to try and seduce my husband.”

“Jason Todd, you- you _and_ your husband are ridiculous. I no longer like either of you.”

“Aw, c’mon, Babs,” Jason said. “We were just playing with you.”

“I didn’t find it very funny.”

“It was kind of really amusing,” Jason admitted. “All those rumors going around school? Dick was so embarrassed, it was great. How can we make it up to you? Dick would kill me if you stopped talking to us over a little joke.”

“I will gladly take your dog as payment.”

“Nuh-uh,” Jason said immediately. “Ikigai is not for negotiation. That was Dick’s present for me when we first started dating.”

Barbara was silent for a few seconds. “Why don’t you tell him what _ikigai_ means?” she asked softly. “It’s very… sweet.”

“That’s the thing,” Jason said. “It’s for me to know. He doesn’t know that Ikigai is actually referring to him. Or maybe he does, but he doesn’t know what it means, and it’s my secret name for him.”

“You love him a lot, don’t you?” Barbara asked.

Jason stopped playing with his pen. “More than life itself,” he confirmed softly. Then, he gave Barbara a small smile. “You won’t go and tell the rest of the teachers, right? And- And in front of Dickie, pretend you don’t know either. He… finds this really funny.”

Barbara sighed and smiled at him. “Of course, Jay.”

“Thanks, Babs.”

Barbara left Jason’s classroom, and she thought about Mr. Grayson and Mr. Todd’s relationship.

Never has two teachers caused so much drama at Highlands High School in the fifteen years Mr. Barbara Gordon had taught there.

**Author's Note:**

> I did not realize it until I finished writing this, but it's very similar to another fic I wrote. It's the same premise and both are Outsider POV, though the other one was much more of the crack side if things...
> 
> But whatever. I love misunderstandings.


End file.
